1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to agricultural compositions and tank mix adjuvants, which exhibit reduce amounts of fine particles when sprayed through spray nozzles used in agriculture to disseminate agrochemicals.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the agricultural arts, various agrochemicals are applied to growing areas by spraying. The growing areas may be crop areas in the field, which can be very large, or smaller growing areas such as those in greenhouses. The agrochemicals applied as sprays include fertilizers, herbicides, fungicides, insecticides, pesticides, miticides, micronutrients, and the like. These materials can be applied to the target surfaces including the plants, seeds, crops, and/or the soil. The agrochemicals must be applied via a carrier and reach the target surfaces to exert their desired biological effects. As the term is used herein, “pesticide” includes herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, miticides, and plant growth regulators. Fertilizers include macronutrients (containing Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Potassium, Sulfur, Calcium, Magnesium), and micronutrients.
Certain pesticides (particularly those containing 2,4 D, dicamba and glyphosate salts, esters, and acids) are known to cause adverse effects if these pesticides inadvertently come in contact with non-target plants. When agricultural chemicals are sprayed, a distribution of spray particle sizes is formed and this distribution depends on the nature of the spray mix, type of nozzle used, spray system pressure and other variable factors such ground speed of the applying system, natural wind speed, temperature, and humidity. One possible side effect of the spraying process is an undesirable effect commonly called spray or pesticide drift. Controlling spray drift of these pesticides is especially important as genetically modified crop plants resistant to these pesticides are commercialized.
The importance of drift control is well recognized by the agricultural industry as a number of technologies have been developed based on the following technologies: 1) polyacrylamide polymers, 2) invert emulsion technology, 3) Guar gums, and 4) Lecithin. Each of these technologies is used in practice, but each technology has limitations on their use. Furthermore, the importance of drift control is such that regulatory agencies such as the United States Environmental Protection Agency have promulgated rules to minimize such drift. As a consequence, pesticide products often have labels detailing use restrictions so as to reduce drift potential of a pesticide spray.
Therefore, a need exists for methods and compositions for controlling spray drift of pesticides and other compositions to adjacent crops.